Free from the Scholastic Chains.

I feel at least 10 pound lighter than I did this morning. The first semester of my senior year has come to an end and I have not had a nervous breakdown!! There's a Christmas Miracle if I ever saw one. I have no clue what I made in my classes and quite honestly I don't even care, it just feels good to have one responsibility lifted from my shoulders, if only briefly. It was a good semester though. I met so many wonderful people that I call friends and learned so many things. I know all about abnormal psychology now, Personality Disorders, Psychoses, Eating Disorders, Axis I Disorders (Depression, Anxiety, etc) and have diagnosed nearly everyone I know : ). I also discovered that the criminal justice system is quite complex and crooked, and the decriminalization of illegal drugs would help our country and the people in it far more than the policy of prohibition and abstinence we observe now. Let's see, Psychological Testing and statistics really didn't make that much of an impact on me so.... We'll just leave it at that.

Jackson, on the other hand, did not fair so well during finals week, but has a terrible cold. I say "terrible" because it is the first time that he has really been sick since he was born. We were lucky, I know. He snots, and coughs, and cries when I wipe or try to suck the snot out. He doesn't want to eat anything and I know it is because everything tastes like those little crackers we used to eat at communion as kids.

In spite of it all, he is still very pleasant. He says "pot" now and "hot pot", which I realize are very similar, but I know he is saying 2 distinct words, It is one of those things a Momma kinda knows.

I dreamt last night that he was stringing words together in sentences, and I know the time for that in reality is very near.

We are actually enjoying the holidays this years. Last year seemed like such a struggle with a new baby and dealing with what I still won't admit was post partum depression. This year is different though. This year we have bonded and grown tremendously as a family and are ready to relish each moment and memory that we make.

Time are hard. This is evident in the grim look everyone seems to share out there handing cashiers credit cards that are one swipe away from being maxed out. And in this I am reminded that none of the plastic crap in the stores out there makes people happy anyway. Happiness comes from within, it comes from the love we give and the love given to us. Jackson shows me how a spoon, or a broken toy can be just as entertaining as the most high tech baby toys out there. These realizations are good. I am getting on track. I am glad to be free from scholastic activities for a brief time to truly enjoy this. :)

Happy Holidays to All! Enjoy whatever it is in the world that makes you happy!